Life-Cycle Studies: Bananas

Bananas have been called “the world’s most perfect fruit.” They’re high in potassium, low in fat, and a
good source of vitamins and fiber. They’re also one of the few fruits available year round. Today’s sweet
yellow banana is a mutant strain of the plantain, a starchy red-green cooking banana that is boiled,
fried, or ground for use in staple dishes worldwide. Bananas likely originated in Malaysia, though one
of the first mentions dates to 327 B.C.E., when Alexander the Great discovered the fruit during his
conquest of India. A Spanish friar brought the first banana roots to the Western Hemisphere in 1516,
and the fruit was officially introduced to the U.S. public at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia,
where each banana was wrapped in foil and sold for 10 cents. By the early twentieth century,
bananas had become the most valuable fresh fruit in world trade, a position they held until the 1970s.

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